SWOP NSW

About Us
Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW (SWOP NSW) is Australia’s largest and longest-running peer-based organisation supporting sex workers. Established in 1990, we are a community-controlled, not-for-profit charity registered with the ACNC and endorsed as a DGR1 organisation. Our vision is that all sex workers in NSW can live and work with safety, dignity, and equal access to health and human rights. Our mission is to promote the health, wellbeing, and human rights of sex workers through culturally responsive, trauma-informed, peer-led education, advocacy, and community development.

The Issue We Address
Sex workers continue to face stigma, discrimination, and barriers to health care and justice, despite NSW’s decriminalised legal framework. Migrant, Aboriginal, trans and gender-diverse, and street-based sex workers experience particular disadvantage, making it vital to maintain peer-driven services that reach across these communities.

Why SWOP is Best Placed
As a peer-led organisation, SWOP is trusted by the community we serve. Our outreach programs engage directly with sex workers across metropolitan, regional, and remote NSW, offering health promotion, information, and referral. We also train health, justice, and social service providers to improve cultural safety and reduce stigma.

Current Priorities
Our priorities include: expanding volunteer and peer leadership programs; strengthening culturally tailored support for migrant and Aboriginal sex workers; and delivering sector-wide sensitivity training.

Impact
SWOP’s work has helped maintain one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates among sex workers globally. Every dollar of funding directly supports frontline outreach, peer training, and systemic change that improves safety and wellbeing for sex workers.

WEBSITE